Hexagonal bar wrench adapter



y 1955 c. A. PQTEET HEXAGONAL BAR WRENCH ADAPTER Filed June '7, 1954 INVENTOR. CHARLES A. POTEE 7' Y m A T TORNEYS United States Patent HEXAGONAL BAR WRENCH ADAPTER Charles A. Poteet, Campbell, Calif.

Application June 7, 1954, Serial No. 434,804

4 Claims. (Cl. 81-177) The present invention relates to a tool holder and pertains more particularly to the holder or adapter for various sizes of socket wrenches for screws of the hollow head or Allen type.

In widespread use in industry is a class of screws having a hexagonal socket extending coaxially into the head thereof. These screws are generally referred to as hollow head or Allen head screws and are customarily manipulated by an L-shaped piece of hexagonal tool steel rod with one short leg and one long leg. The wrenches are made of different diameters and lengths of hexagonal rod to fit closely into the sockets of the various sizes of screws which are used. The rods from which these wrenches are made vary in diameter from approximately to upwardly of A Frequently, a screw will be so tightly lodged that it is impossible to free it Without the use of some additional tool or adapter. Various types of adapters and tool holders have been provided in the past for this type of wrench such as that shown for example in Patent No. 2,569,069. Such holders as are known to applicant, however, while suitable for holding some sizes of Allen wrenches, are not suitable for holding an extremely wide range of sizes thereof. Therefore it usually is necessary for a mechanic who frequently is required to use wrenches of this type to provide himself with two or three different sizes of adapters so as to be able to handle wrenches for a wide range of screw sizes. Other mechanics, not wishing to be burdened with a number of such adapters, simply use an ordinary adjustable end wrench or a pair of pliers for handling the Allen wrenches, even though such tools are generally regarded asless satisfactory than a proper adapter.

The present invention contemplates the provision of an improved Allen wrench adapter. Another object of the invention is to provide an Allen wrench adapter which is capable of handling a wide range of Allen wrench sizes.

The invention further provides an Allen wrench adapter having a single wrench gripping element but having a plurality of seats arranged to receive selectively the short legs of Allen wrenches of a wide range of diameters and lengths. 7

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent in the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an Allen wrench adapter embodying the present invention, a small size Allen wrench being gripped therein ready for use and a socket wrench handle being fitted into the adapter.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal median sectional view of the adapter shown in Fig. l as it appears when gripping a small Allen Wrench therein.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the adapter shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with a larger Allen wrench gripped therein, a lower portion of the adapter being broken away on a mid-plane to illustrate the structure thereof.

Fig. 4 is a top end view of the adapter shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive.

Patented July 19, 1955 Referring to the drawings in detail, an Allen wrench adapter A preferably consists of a generally tubular body portion 10 which preferably is of steel, with a central portion 11 thereof of slightly reduced diameter to facilitate handling the device.

For the purpose of the present description the device will be presumed to be in the position in which it is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The lower portion 13 of the bore of the body portion 10 is threaded as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, while the upper end portion 14 of the bore is of square or other suitable non-circular shape to receive a similarly shaped male end portion 16a on a conventional wrench handle 16 (Fig. 1). A conventional spring-pressed ball 17 (Fig. 2) is mounted to project into the socket portion 14 in a usual manner to retain the male portion 16a of the wrench releasably in the socket portion 14.

A holding screw 20, having a slot 21 in its upper end to receive a screw driver blade 22 (Fig. 2) is threadedly inserted in the lower end of the threaded bore portion 13. The socket portion 14 of the bore preferably is of smaller diameter than the threaded bore portion 13 to prevent removal of the screw 29 upwardly therethrough.

A first Wrench-receiving hole 23 is provided diametrically through the body 10 in upwardly spaced relation to the lower end 24 of the body 10. This first hole 23 is of a size to receive the largest diameter Allen wrench which it is desired to use in the adapter A. A flat chordal face 28 is provided on a side of the body 10 at its lower end below the upper wrench-receiving hole 23, the plane of the face 28 being parallel to the axis of the body 16.

A second and smaller wrench-receiving hole 29 is provided diametrically through the lower portion of the body 10, said hole being axially perpendicular to the face 28, and penetrating said face. This smaller hole 29 preferably is located below the larger upper hole 23 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

A threaded bottom closure plug 31) (Figs. 2 and 3), of a thickness to fill the space between the lower end 24 of the adapter body 10 and the lower edge of the smaller, lower hole 29, is screwed into the threaded bore portion 13 and preferably is secured permanently therein as by silver soldering or brazing.

In using the device, if a small Allen wrench (Figs. 1 and 2) of a size to fit into the lower hole 29 is to be used, the wrench is inserted in this lower hole to bring the bend 31 (Fig. l) of the wrench 15 as close as possible to the chordal face 28. A screw driver blade-22 then is inserted through the socket portion 14 and the threaded bore portion 13 and is fitted into the slot 21 in the holding screw as shown in Fig. 2. The screw 20 then is screwed down to grip the wrench 15 tightly against the bottom plug 30 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The screw driver blade then is withdrawn, and the adapter A with the small wrench 15 gripped therein is ready for use either manually or by the use of the wrench handle 16. To remove the wrench 15 the process is reversed, the screw 29 being screwed upwardly clear of the wrench.

To employ a larger socket wrench such as that shown at 15a in Fig. 3, the wrench is inserted in the larger upper hole 23 as far as possible and the holding screw 21') is screwed down to grip the wrench tightly in the adapter. The larger wrench 15a is of sufiiciently large diameter to resist being sprung or injured by pressure exerted thereon by the holding screw 2%) even though the central portion of the wrench beneath the screw 20 is in shear and unsupported.

The plug 30 provides bottoming support for the smaller wrenches 15 however, and thereby prevents them from 0 being sprung even though a considerable amount of force should be used in screwing down the holding screw 20. While I have illustrated and described a preferred 3. embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood however, that various changes and modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is defined in the following claims.

I claim: V

1. An adapter .for holding hexagonal L-shaped wrenches of different diameters comprising a cylindrical body having a threaded axial bore extending inwardly from one end thereof; and having a non-circular socket of smaller diameter than the threaded bore extending coaxially through the remainder of the body beyond the threaded bore, a chordal face formed on a side of the body at the threaded bore end thereof, said body having a hole of small diameter extending diametrically therethrough to receive therein a hexagonal wrench up to a wrenches of different diameters comprising a cylindrical body having a threaded axial bore extending inwardly from one end thereof, and having a non-circular socket of V smaller diameter than the threaded bore extending coaxially through the remainder of the body beyond the threaded bore, a side portion of said body being cut away at the threaded bore end thereof, said body having a hole of small diameter to receive therein hexagonal wrenches up to a predetermined maximum diameter, said hole extending through said body at the cut away portion thereof, a threaded closure plug secured in an end portion of said threaded bore with its inner end flush with the small Wrench-receiving hole in the body, said'body having a second wrench-reciving hole extending diamtrically through the body at right angles to the axis of the small diameter hole and being offset axially therefrom, said second wrench-receiving hole being of a diameter to receive a hexagonal wrench of predetermined maximum diameter for manipulation thereby.

3. An adapter for holding hexagonal L-shaped 4 wrenches of different diameters comprising a cylindrical body having a threaded axial bore extending inwardly from one end thereof, and having a non-circular socket of smaller diameter than the threaded bore extending coaxially through the remainder of the body beyond the threaded bore and continuous therewith, a threaded bore closure plug secured in the opposite end of said threaded bore from said socket, a wrenchrsecuring screw threadedly mounted in the threaded bore for axial movement between said plug and said socket, the end of the screw directed toward the socket being formed for engagement by a tool inserted through the socket, 'said body having a pair of wrench-receiving holes of diiferent diameters extending diametrically therethrough in axially separated relation from each other to receive hexagonal wrenches of different diameters therein, the smaller of said wrench-receiving holes being substantially tangent to theinner end of the bore closure plug.

4. An adapter for holding hexagonal L-shaped wrenches of different diameters comprising a cylindrical body having a threaded axial bore extending inwardly from one end thereof, and having a non-circular socket of smaller diameter than the threaded bore extending coaxially through the remainder of the body beyond the threaded bore and continuous therewith, a threaded bore closure plug secured in the opposite end of said threaded bore from said socket, a wrench-securing screw threade'dly mounted in the threaded bore for axial movement between said plug and said socket, the end of the screw directed toward the socket being formed for engagement by a tool inserted through the socket, said body having a pair of wrench-receiving holes of difierent diameters extending diametrically therethrough in axially separated relation. to receive hexagonal wrenches of different diameters therein, the smaller of said wrenchreceiving holes being located closely adjacent the plugged end of the threaded bore, a side'portion of thebody having a cutaway recess at one end of the smaller wrench-receiving hole whereby when one leg portion of a small L-shaped wrench is inserted fully in said smaller wrench-receiving hole from the cut-away side of the body its outer leg portion will be close to the axis of the body. I

Referenees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,346,364 'Dowe Apr. 11, 1944 2,465,619 Veit Mar. .29, 1949 2,569,069 'Motel Sept. 25, 1951 2,593,828 Arey Apr. 22,1952 

